Dream of death penalty repeal still alive

Wednesday

May 7, 2014 at 2:00 AM

Dear Sen. Nancy Stiles,

Leonard Korn

Dear Sen. Nancy Stiles,

I watched from the visitors' gallery in Senate Chambers on April 17 the debate and vote on House Bill 1170 — repeal of the death penalty in New Hampshire. As a fervent supporter of repeal, I was so hopeful that the time had come for New Hampshire to join all of the rest of the New England states in abolishing this discriminatory, arbitrary, unfair, inhumane practice of state-sponsored killing of its citizens. New Hampshire came close once before, as you well know, when then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen vetoed a death penalty repeal bill in 2000.

Death penalty repeal will happen in New Hampshire. I am sure of it. The death penalty is losing favor throughout the United States and the world. It is just a matter of time, but April 17 could have been that historic time.

I watched carefully in particular for your vote, Sen. Stiles, as you represent my town of New Castle as part of our District 24. I had written you just about two days before the vote, outlining why I thought a vote for repeal was the right one for New Hampshire. I was so hoping your vote would be the decisive vote to end the arbitrary discriminatory relic of uncivilized eras past. Your vote, however, we all know now, was no, leading to a 12-12 tie, effectively tabling HB 1170.

The possibility lives, however, for you or any of the 12 senators who rejected repeal to change their minds. HB 1170 can come off the table! That leads me to my dream.

My dream is of you, Sen. Stiles, and Rep. Renny Cushing standing in front of our great state capital building celebrating the historic New Hampshire Senate vote to abolish the death penalty in New Hampshire. What a dream! Sen. Nancy Stiles of Hampton and surrounding District 24 and Renny Cushing, state representative of Hampton, survivor of two family members murdered, together finalizing the long effort in New Hampshire to abolish the death penalty.

That is my dream picture. Here are some reasons why I hope you will reconsider your support of the death penalty and make this dream a reality.

A crucial reason always suggested for why we should retain the death penalty in New Hampshire is that it is a just penalty for the "worst of the worst." With all due respect, this is really faulty reasoning. It is a horrible tragedy when anyone is murdered, whether it is a psychiatrist, a baker or a construction worker, a woman or a man, a husband or a wife, a policeman or a nonpoliceman. Murder is murder, horror to all who care and treasure life and, of course, especially to the families involved. The question really is what is a just and fair punishment for such a horrific crime of first-degree murder.

It is so fortunate we live is such a safe state, with fewer murders than elsewhere. That is true of Maine, also a very safe state, but one that abolished the death penalty in 1887. We don't need the trouble, the unnecessary expense, the prolonging of suffering, the unfair, discriminatory and, in many people's eyes, cruel and unusual punishment that the death penalty represents. Life without the possibility of parole is a just and fair sentence for first-degree murder, so much fairer punishment, equal to the crime.

The horribly botched execution in Oklahoma just last week further emphasized the absurdity of New Hampshire and the United States continuing the barbaric process of state-supported murder.

What a confusing image we present to the world to continue state-supported murder of its citizens. I probably need not mention that the only European country that still has the death penalty is Belarus. We are supposed to be a beacon for world freedom, but we are missing this important element.

Then there is the question of how New Hampshire is going to arrange the process of administering the death penalty. We have no such facility in the state, but more to the point is whether we can provide the professionals necessary to administer and supervise the death process. Where is New Hampshire going to find the doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists to find the veins and administer the poisons? Licensed physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists and psychiatrists are ethically prohibited from participating in executions by their professional societies. Then there is also the question of the drugs themselves. Where are the drugs going to come from, and can we be assured of their purity? Pharmaceutical companies are now not providing the drugs necessary for medicalized executions. Isn't there a message here that needs to be appreciated, an action to be taken?

As I have in my prior writings on repeal of the death penalty, may I again recall the final lines of John Donne in his 17th century poem "No Man is an Island":

Any man's death diminishes me,

for I am involved in mankind;

and therefore never send to know

for whom the bell tolls;

it tolls for thee.

Sen. Stiles, I am sending this letter with my sincere hope that you reconsider your vote on HB 1170. You can be a hero for a very just cause, and your voice will be heard all around New Hampshire and the world. People I speak to about you always tell me you have an independent mind and voice. Please be that voice, please be a hero for a truly worthy cause. We can still have this historic vote and time! Let us see that photo forever in our minds of Nancy Stiles and Renny Cushing at the Statehouse after the historic Senate vote repealing New Hampshire's death penalty!

Dr. Leonard Korn lives in New Castle and has been practicing psychiatry in Portsmouth for 40 years. He is on the Executive Council of the New Hampshire Medical Society and the New Hampshire Psychiatric Society. He serves as chairman of the NHMS Subcommittee on Violence as a Public Heath Issue and is the immediate past president of NHPS. He is also on the Steering Committee of the New Hampshire Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Newsletters

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service